Mancala Playing Board

I used a plunge router with a box core bit mounted to carve out the cups that hold the game pieces. I drew the lines on the piece and routed them freehand. I was looking for a primitive look for the board so I used some carving tools to gouge the cups and edges to try and make it have a hand carved appearance.

The legs were turned on the lathe and installed by drilling a hole for each leg on the bottom of the board and glueing the leg tenon in the hole. I used Watco Dark Walnut Danish Oil Finish to make it darker and add some more protection for the wood, rather than being left bare. I bought some decorative stones from the craft store for the playing pieces.

I am very pleased with the over all look of this particular board. It has the look and feel that I had in mind when I started out on making this project. This was a quick and satisfying project and I plan to make more to give away soon!

Very nice build. I remember playing a game that looked allot like this when I was in Viet Nam…I don’t remember what it was called or even how to play it…something to do with the pebbles I know…can you explain how to play the game or a website that will.